Eco-harvesting heat – a critical review with innovative energy solutions for organic waste

The global energy deficit and the observed climate threats drive the search for new energy production and recovery methods. An underestimated thermal energy source is the low-grade thermal energy generated during composting and storage of agro-food feedstocks. This review paper provides a comprehensive and exhaustive state-of-the-art review of heat recovery systems obtained through these processes. Moreover, the paper introduces novel concepts for the heat recovery method from organic wastes, mainly agricultural and food waste, to utilize it as a power source for environmentally friendly adsorption cooling and desalination systems. An extensive review of the literature confirms that the heat recovery technology proposed by the authors is innovative, and the calculations carried out within this work indicate a strong potential for the developed method to be a game-changer in the field. The innovative solution proposed in the paper has been covered by patent application no. P.443673. The presented overview also underscores the significant research gap in developing low-grade heat recovery systems and proposes an adaptive, feedback-based strategy for heat recovery from compost systems to avoid disrupting microbial activity. By adjusting thermal extraction based on real-time temperature data, the approach enhances energy efficiency while maintaining optimal biological conditions during composting.